Chrome is developed by one of the new Eastern European companies starting to have a dramatic impact on the gaming industry. This "tactical" shooter not only adds some new gameplay elements to the otherwise bland FPS genre, but has some of the most astonishing visuals seen in an FPS.

You are Bolt Logan. Absurd, machismo name aside, Logan is a decorated SpecForce soldier-turned-mercenary trying to make his way in the big, bad universe. The game begins with you and your partner, Ron "Pointer" Harper, heading to Helios to retrieve stolen plans from an Octolab base. Logan's choice in partners proves as good as his choice in names, and Pointer betrays him by leaving him behind to get captured. During Logan's escape he meets up with the skin-tight jumpsuit wearing Carrie, who becomes his new non-playable partner. She also acts as chauffer, dropping him off on planets, and a sounding board.

Fast-forward one year...

Chrome is filled with transitional cutscenes that advance the plot, and the first one is reminiscent of a film's intro, complete with credits, and brings you up to speed on what's transpired to our anti-heroes in the intervening year. Pay attention to the background radio chatter, which sounds similar to someone turning the dial on a radio. It clues you in to current events of the universe you're about to enter. It's a great touch! From here you embark on 14 truly massive and diverse missions that take you on a bumpy ride of survival, revenge, and more than a few twists and turns.

Logan and Carrie begin working for the small mining company of SPACON recovering stolen equipment and rescuing a hostage here and there. Logan is no-nonsense and only accepts a mission if the price is right and the odds are in his favor. However, things change when SPACON headquarters and all of its upper management is destroyed. Guess who's to blame? That's right, Ron "Pointer" Hunter. From here, not only does the game's direction change, but Logan becomes obsessed with revenge. And, like Deus Ex, you'll have a choice of endings.

Before each mission you get to select your loadout (weapons, ammo, equipment). There is very limited inventory space, which I actually liked because it made things feel a bit more realistic. The RPG "pick-n-click" inventory doesn't slow you down, as every item has a quick-key. The 14 weapons are cool, if not wholly original. You have your standard 9mm pistol (silenced and non-silenced), as well as my fave - the Bjorn HD pistol, which fires 12mm Mag rounds! There's 12 gauge shotguns, 9mm "Uzis," and 8mm assault rifles, oh my! And let's not forget the 14mm sniper rifles, heavy assault machine guns, the rocket launcher LeRouge and a beam weapon too!

RPG elements take full effect here, since each weapon has different specifications: size, damage, magazine capacities, and recoil. While a pistol takes up little space in your inventory, it also does the least damage, whereas the rocket launcher is huge and inflicts major damage. Don't forget to pack the ammo - you have to carry that with you too. Choose your equipment carefully, because your choices do affect how difficult the game becomes. If you run out of something you may be able to scavenge it from corpses, but unlike other FPS'ers that leave abundant ammo and equipment strewn about, that's not always the case here. This further adds to Chrome's "realism."

Another key RPG element is the choice to use (or not use) your 7 cybernetic implants (similar to those in Deus Ex): Eye Scope, Dermal Armor, Adrenaline Processor, Targeting Assistance, Muscle Improver, HMN Vision and Reflex Booster. Another implant allows you to hack into computer terminals from which you can open gates or shut down security systems. It's a simple matter of memory recall, much like the old game of Concentration, where you have to match up 2 (or 3) identical encryption icons from blank tiles on the screen in a set number of moves. Once you match up all the pairs, you hack into the computer. It's not quite so simple later in the game when you're faced with 20 icons to match. Here's the catch with the implants - including hacking: there's a gauge that allows you to use them only for a certain length of time before it automatically shuts down. The shutdown is rapid, brutal, and causes a momentary black out and a reduction in health.

Theoretically, these implants are supposed to help you, and to some degree they do, but they're not necessary. See, the enemy AI in Chrome is schizophrenic. Sometimes they can be as tough to deal with as a real squad of Navy SEALS, other times they can be as inept as a herd of deaf, dumb, and blind sheep. Frequently you're faced with multiple enemy troops, all within earshot or line of sight of each other. Go ahead and cap one or two of them, the others won't react. But sometimes they do - and en masse! There's also a few mission that require you to sneak undetected through an enemy base, which is incredibly difficult to do, until you discover an imaginary point where you can start tossing grenades without causing the slightest suspicion. There's really no excuse for the unbalanced AI, which is both frustrating and detracts from gameplay.

As stated, the missions are both immense (it should take you over 25 hours to finish this game) and diverse, ranging from straight run-n-gun to hide-n-slide. The environments are absolutely stunning, ranging from islands to deserts to snowy climates. Gaming Compatriots, I don't say this lightly - the graphics are perhaps the best I've ever seen in a FPS. Draw distances are out of this world. You can actually sit atop a plateau looking through binoculars for miles. Sadly, the environments don't allow you to interact with much, and you often get the sense of being "railed" along the gameplay path.

The "Chrome Engine" was designed specifically for this game and its expansive terrains and abundant plant life. Trees (including bark) and foliage are individually detailed to the point that you can see the leaf's veins, stalks, and serrated edges. You can shoot bullet into tree trunks, walk up to the hole and be awed at the intricate detail. Furthermore, flora moves with the breeze. Streaming light effects through the tree tops is so life-like that in the midst of sneaking past enemy goons, I had to stop and admire it all. This same attention to detail is rendered in every climate. But the environments aren't the only visually amazing element; I found the rag-doll physics and subsequent death animations to be particularly life-like: bodies fall over railings, slide down declines and slump against boxes and other obstacles.

Alas, all this visual eye-candy does not come without consequence; you need a beast of a rig to play this game. I can't imagine how the recommended machine listed on the box would work (P4 1.5 GHZ, 512 RAM, 64 MB video card). I'm running a P4 2.4 GHZ, 768 RAM, nVIDIA 128 MB GeForce4 card and it was still sluggish. Additionally, load times between each mission are heinously long; however the payoff comes during the game as there is no lag or transitional slow down at any point.

There are a few other quibbles I have. First, is the save system: it doesn't auto-save for you, so you have to do so manually, and often, since you die frequently. There are four quick-save slots and ten full-save slots, so there's ample room. My other quibble is the difficulty settings, which range from Very Easy to Very Hard. My first run through was on Medium, and it was difficult - and I'm an FPS vet! The levels mainly influence enemy aggressiveness and accuracy, but in the harder settings you also lose your radar. Corpses will have fewer items and boss battles become nearly impossible to win.

Regrettably, there is a far worse technical issue. The retail version of the game (which is what I played) crashed on me - a lot. It appears that Techland is providing timely support as they've already released a few patches (v1.130 on 12/15/03) which optimizes game performance, adds new multiplayer maps/vehicles and various other improvements (including the crash problem), but for a game to be released this buggy is unforgivable. Be sure to install this patch before playing because saved games from previous versions may not carry over. Additionally, a bonus single-player level (not included with the retail version) is available for free on Chrome's website (www.chromethegame.com).

Chrome's sound is wretched, which is a shame given its visuals. While voice acting is passable (the guy that voices Logan also voiced the lead character in Unreal II), the dialogue is as B-movie as it gets. I had a serious problem with environmental noises (birds, computers and other ambient sounds), which constantly cut in and out. The running sound effect becomes extremely annoying, as it's just the same four-second bit looped incessantly, and the musical score is immaterial.

Due to the sheer size of the maps and environments, there are several fully functional vehicles at your disposal. Again, this goes back to the industry's latest innovation: vehicle combat. It seems like every FPS these days has to have some form of it, which is fine because it's fun! The only two vehicles you get to actually control in Chrome is a buggy mounted with a machine gun and a "walker" type (ala MechWarrior) vehicle, and neither intuitive or fun.

Multiplay supports up to 24 players online and 32 via LAN, but there are currently only a handful of servers and not many people. There should be more because the multiplay maps rock! All the standard modes are included, plus a Domination mode in which teams fight for control of checkpoints scattered across the map. This mode also has a "free-for-all" variation in which single players (not teams) fight for control of the checkpoints. I have a feeling the lack of online players can be traced to the differing European/US versions. Hopefully, once everyone has the new patch and is synched with the same version, multiplay will improve.

Speaking of mod created maps, "ChromEd," a map creator/editor is included with the game. There's already four player created multiplayer maps (and one single player) available. Based on those, it seems to be a pretty powerful tool that's sure to give Chrome many years of staying power.

Techland deserves a round of applause for attempting such an ambitious game in a very demanding and saturated genre, and for the most part they pull it off. Yes, there are major issues that detract from its potential and overall gameplay, but it has more than enough pluses to make it worth playing. And let's not forget the developer's endeavor to make things right with timely patches and bonus levels! Until the two "big" FPS'ers are released, grab a can of bug spray and dive in, this game is still worth the effort.